It’s clear that our city’s budget dollars are stretched and are in ever growing demand. Understanding those facts, many needs remain unmet and are part of the reason a business improvement district (BID) is warranted.
I was a vocal opponent of this concept and was vehemently against imposing an additional fee on downtown property owners for services that I felt the city should provide. But after listening, arguing, investigating and really digging into it, I am now one of the many top supporters who own property and work in the proposed BID area.
My support may surprise many who know me as a conservative businessperson and staunch advocate for private property rights. But the use of a self-assessed fee to meet the prioritized needs of those who pay into it is a very conservative approach to pay for services that benefit you, not a redistribution of earnings from one area of town to benefit another. Further, the BID process has been grassroots-driven with overwhelming representation of those who live and work in the designated area who understand their property downtown can be improved with their own investment.
In various locales throughout Hamilton County, neighborhoods and subdivisions have neighborhood associations and homeowner’s associations. These organizations exist for the purpose of improving a specific area through safety, a greater sense of community, standards and vigilance. These common organizations are made up of people who care about their neighborhoods and identify projects to best serve the area that will increase property values and benefit the livability of the area. Dues and fees are understood to be an investment. A business improvement district serves an identical purpose and function.
Instead of a productive discussion of the merits of a self-assessment to enhance property supported by property owners that possess 82% of the assessed value of the property within this area, the pitchforks and torches have come out led by some who will never be impacted by this BID outside the benefit to our community at large.